DIY French Drain Test | Yard Drainage Solution | pt. 2
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- Опубликовано: 16 май 2024
- Two weeks ago I finished my DIY French Drain project. We have had some thunderstorms since so I wanted to share if the drain worked.
If you did not see the previous video I suggest you do it will help this make more sense.
• DIY French Drain | Che...
In my previous video I completed a French drain project to solve some drainage problems. In total the drain system is 200+ feet long located in the swale of my side yard. As you can see in the video this system is moving a ton of water and really helping my drainage situation.
If you have any questions please let me know in the comments
Instagram (imthattechteacher) / imthattechteacher
Links:
DIY Drain Video: • DIY French Drain | Che... 
Хобби
Here is a link to how this drain was installed: ruclips.net/video/V17s91XeqvU/видео.html
Similar Drain Project: ruclips.net/video/SjZ95sGaD-k/видео.html
Any worries of the sod over the French drain drying out under drought conditions due to lack of soil between grass and stone? I remember brown spots on childhood home where large rocks were just below sod.
That Tech Teacher would Frost have any effect on a system like that I don't know if even work with northern areas with snow.
@@lesmoore3638 good point. Same affect as sand underneath sod.
I have no idea why part 1 and 2 were recommended to me, or why I watched them, but I was definitely entertained.
Awesome!
same here...i dont have a problem like this but im really thinking about it where i could bulid one :D :D :D
RUclips algorithm got me here haha noice channel!
I don’t even own a home, but here I am.
June 2021. Sames.
Great knowledge and technique on installation. Licensed Landscape Architect in North Carolina here, not an internet troll. Wanted to bring out a couple of items of interest. In my area we have fine grained silty clay soils and the use of underdrains, sub-drains, or French Drains is common. French Drains are also a great solution to drain sub-surface springs that create soggy spots. 1. Use of geo-fabric may or may not be a long-term solution dependent on the amount of surface water you seek to drain. The geo-fabric will clog over time with those fine clayey soil particles so a more free draining fabric like landscape fabric may be a better solution. 2. Since you didn't cover the fabric with a soil layer a warning that the sod cut and replaced directly over the fabric will dry out in the heat and drought of late summer. Fescue grasses rely on a steady supply of moisture and require at least 4" depth of soil. 3. The video didn't mention whether the flexible pipe used was a perforated pipe and whether the holes in the pipe were placed on top or on bottom. Typical hole placement is on top allowing the voids in the surrounding rock to fill prior to water getting in the pipe for removal. This method allows small rains and excess water to re-percolate back into the water table.
Keep up with the good presentation. Not enough information out there for DIY grading and drainage projects like yours. Kudos!!!
FWIW driving by this guy's house the line of sod is visibly brown now as it's been hot with little rain lately so, spot on with your comments.
Great feedback - I too wondered about the sod in hot weather...seems like a very tiny amount of soil to retain moisture below the blades
Thanks for your information
Mark - Civil Engineer in North Carolina here, appreciate your points but curious what the reasoning is on suggesting landscape fabric over geo-fabric? This goes against the majority of details I've seen/used.
@@jordanchandler3704 simply an effort to apply more free-draining fabric, if any. Have had instances nearer streams in more "cobbly" soils in which no fabric wqs specified. Fine clay soil particles clog the fabric over time.
Great job. Thanks for showing the results with rain. Makes a big difference.
The thing about your videos is that you don’t go on and on. You get the important stuff out there and explain really well without every boring step that is inconsequential anyway. Thanks for a really good video. I really need help like this in front of my house!
Loved the 2 video's. Short and to the point! My back started to hurt watching you wheel barrow all that rock from your driveway! Thanks for sharing!
I was excited for you to see it all working and flowing well!
2:35 "Hiya Georgie, what a nice boat..."
love that you showed both dry & wet ! very good! Both videos you did good.
You are a natural for YT, nice presentation! Watched both vids and subscribed. Thx
Thanks! I really appreciate that!
I'm a first time home buyer and my home is in desperate need of this!! I'm so grateful for this video. It has really alleviated a lot of my worries before closing....seems like I can fix my negative grading!!
Awesome!
Wow very impressive. Can't wait to see the next project. 👍🏻
That's a lot of hypothetical water going into that hypothetical drain :)
👍
Technically, yes. Lol.
Excellent follow up to the installation video! What satisfaction to see your hard work pay off, I'm sure! I came back to edit my response of your first video, which was I"m glad I had the volume up on that one. I would have assumed that you had just used weed block fabric. Over here taking notes! Thanks for the update!
Thanks!
Yes you are correct!
Really interesting information on the french drain. Watched both videos. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the follow up! First time someone showing how it actually works.
The people asked... 😀
Second that! It’s good to see the flow rate and speed of dry out from one of these “burrito” wrapped systems. Interesting to see (as Chuck w Apple Drains would say) that you can’t beat mother nature’s rainfall- water is still going to pool; however, the yard quickly drains and your system works throughout and after the rain event. It’s also interesting to see that the burrito wrapping still has brown/silted water during the heavy rain, but almost clear after the rain event and ground water continues to drain. There’s definitely trade offs between putting catch basins along a French drain (making it a hybrid French and yard drain) and doing a wrapped French/curtain drain for longevity. Thanks for posting; and I agree, your RUclips presentation is quite good, keep it up.
"So I can look in for my own curiosity". Your wife will never be able to understand what is so interesting with water flowing in a pipe underground. :-)
😂 Truth!
Great job !
Such drains are nice around the house. AFTER the clay mud barrier on the foundation.
Thanks!
Putting that Mavic to good use on the channel, well done Mr. G, looks great!
Thanks!
Handy tool to have.
This video helps me with excellent concepts and mellow-ness.
I am weirdly ready for more videos.
I will have a question before too long
Awesome! I'll be ready
Great video and presentation!!! Easy to follow! Nice work.
Thanks!
Thank you for these videos!! We have a serious drainage issue that has caused water to flood into our home. We have paid to have 2 sets of french drains put in, but still occasionally have water getting in on one particular corner. Might try to add on the the current french drains to save $$ since the city refuses to do anything. I just discovered your videos. Subscribed! Thank you!
Sorry to hear that. Hope you find something that works. Sometimes a professional is the way to go. Maybe it could be your foundation drains idk.
Thanks for watching!
Sometimes water comes in through the concrete foundation. I've seen people go as far as digging down to the foundation walls and spraying them with red guard waterproof membrane paint with a paint sprayer. They put sump pumps into the catch basins to rapidly pump out the water.
Thanks for the update. Great job.
No problem, thanks for watching,
We just bought a house on .50 Acers and have been here for two weeks and it poured rain the other day and the entire back yard was a river & "Pond". Hope this works! Thanks for the video, dude! Now I have an idea what to do. GREAT VIDEO! Subbed✌🏻
Excellent video. No wasted time or words. Great info for the problem I have.
Glad it helped
Great video! Glad to see its works just as you wanted it to!
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing, Ryan. Nice job.
You clearly have clayey soil and are a good candidate for a french drain. I know because I had about 200' installed 8 years ago because I also have very dense soil and had ponding issues around the house in addition to poor grading that I inherited that didn't drain away from the foundation. But I think you made a miscalculation that could've taken care of even the temporary ponding and it's one I fortunately caught my contractor making and then corrected. I think you would've been better to toss that sod for another project. It's growing in the same clayey soil that's preventing the water to quickly "perc", or soak into the ground, and you've effectively capped the trench you wanted to collect surface runoff.
In my case the contractor dug a deeper trench than yours, properly wrapped the pipe and gravel, but then proceeded to replace the soil they'd just removed. I pointed out that they were just sealing in the trench with the soil that was causing the problem in the first place, and that any surface runoff was still just going to sit there, as before. We agreed and he ordered the crew to remove the offending soil and we brought in soil that's rated for leach field installations, that is, tested for adequate perc rates approved by the county Department of Health. While a "certified" soil isn't necessary, you get the idea. Anything's better than what you're removing. Now even in the heaviest downpours (Upstate NY) and in the spring melt, there's no ponding even 8 years on.
Yours seems to be somewhat working but were I to do it I'd cap it with different soil and reseed it, or maybe better, bring in a pallet or two of sod from a sod farm and lay it in. But I do think your sod is not helping the solution.
Thanks!
Also thank you for sharing that. I am always want to learn new more and you bring up a great point. Never thought of regrowing grass in a more perm soil.
@@ThatTechTeacher427 This is what I like to see. Good video explaining the simple things that most people don't understand well. Commenters politely suggesting possible ways to improve the design/performance, and the content producer engaging with the comments. I really hope to see your channel grow big, and keep doing the good work
you're spot on; i had a contractor that didnt know this, i didnt know this either at the time; so i had to remove the backfill and replace with organic soil
I think this answered my questin about a potential drained string of grass. With rains like this you dont have droughts.
Nice to see an after video on this. Cheers
Thanks!
Wish every vid had the link to its update, ty. Congrats on nice result
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 (attempting to compensate for underrated comment).
nice clay terrain seem clever way to have solved your issue may make nice use info and your ways that done it for my self case ty for sharing your experience.
You did a fantastic job.
Thanks I appreciate it!
Super kool! 👍 Great jobb & thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
I appreciate how you edit-in a previous vid to help explain your purpose. T y.
Your vid is well explained with strong content.
(I learned something new bc I’m not lost in your instructional vid bc of the above.)
I appreciate that!
Very informative and good job!!! Thank you
Thanks!
Very well made video. Learned a lot.
Can you link the clean outs used?
Thank you sir....I'm gonna do it.
Great videos Ryan! Keep it up.
Thanks I really appreciate it!
If you happen to have puddling on your sidewalk after it rains, one tip that found to work very well is to cut into the dirt at the edge of the sidewalk and "Curb-strip" by one inch creating a little small channel low spot for water to escape. You are pretty much edging your sidewalk lawn, but cutting deeper and a littler further back. It doesn't look bad if you do the entire strip. I had the same problem on my sidewalk wand used this method to get rid of them.
Thanks, I have that on the walkway to my front door. I have spent a couple of years dealing with erosion along my driveway - finally got that stable. Never thought to dig away dirt (and plants) from around the walkway.
Well thought out, well designed, and well built with good choice of materials. Only thing I would note, and this largely depends on whether one has irrigation or lives in a cooler climate, is that the system could be a few inches deeper, to allow the sod over the system a few extra inches of soil depth. Would help keep the soil from drying out as quickly on hot days, and stressing the turf in that area. Nice, clean job. Thanks for posting.
Thanks!
That Tech Teacher that’s what I was wondering if you had enough top soil over the fabric to sustain the sod. I’m getting ready to do the same thing on both sides of the house.nice work .
Excellent follow-up!
I appreciate it
Great video. I did similar solution in my garden. The only problem I notice during hot summer days is that the lawn above the drain is suffering more than the rest. Water is dissapearing faster in places where drainage is build and the colour of the dry grass is different compared to the rest of the lawn.
Thanks for the info. Maybe more dirt above the drain will help keep the roots moist longer. I could have done that.
dont drain your soil.
Just changed my mind, I was going to pay to have this done. Now I’m a DYI guy! Saved $!
Great job! Wish you showed us how you connected to the street drain and got under the sidewalk (particularly backfilling). I have a similar problem. Side tip, always complete the lowest point first - in case of rain during installation, it would be a real mess if you didnt.
Great suggestion!
When backfilling under the side walk try to use the finer or broken up parts of dirt and pack it in with a shovel or spud bar. You could also use something like sand or a finer gravel to get it packed back in.
Man, there must have been some serious water pools forming but now it's pretty good to go. : ) nicely done.
Thanks 👍
Great video. Enjoyed it and learned from it. Yeah i would have mentioned whether the pipe was perforated or solid. ... and Geez I would think that whoever graded the property prior to building your house should go to school. I hope your home inspector told you all this would need to be done before you bought the house too. Thats a lot of work doing all that. But nice to see the water flowing through the cleanouts when you were done. Very satisfying.
Thank you!
30 years ago my tech teacher said ' you only need three things to make good turf , drainage drainage & drainage ' - he was right . Nice job
Awesome thanks!
So thought communists in east europe and now they have to take measures to take water back into fields and forests because soil degraded drastically, its almost sterile instead of fertile and heavily eroded. Dont do that mistake too. Hold your water as long as possible instead. Or soon you will have only rocks instead of soil in your yard.
Excellent drain, excellent video
Thanks!
WOW!! very very interesting to see!!!!!!
Cool video very informative learnt alot, im about to do a retaining wall this is perfect🤙🇦🇺
Thanks! Hope it goes well
Great job man!
Thanks!
Great how to and follow up video. My only concern is the longevity of the grass over the gravely. Just wonder if over time the water movement through the grass to the gravel might take away a lot of the nutrients and dirt needed to keep it alive. Just a curious question and no basis in personal experience. But would be neat on an update in a year or so to see if the grass in that area still looks that perfect. Thanks for the vid
my exact thought, all the murky water in the drain at the start is the finer dirt particles critical for the long term health i suppose the grass can be seeded with new dirt when needed but would be interesting to see how much is actually being flushed away vs if it had the chance to drain naturally.
On the plus side though, less water is evaporating away and should help with fresh water supplies for the area (not much but every little helps, might at least balance out the need to water the grass every now and then during warm seasons
Congrats!!
Thanks!
Really glad this was recommended to me so I could subscribe. I am looking to complete some similar projects in the near future. Thanks, and great video quality by the way!
Awesome, thank you!
Now that is very good work I did this as work when I was 19 and things that worked then still work now, I like this method and it needs no work on it apart from when we did this we dug 3 feet and lined with two grades of stone it was a golf course and them greens floating on water is not a good look haha but the rain in the United Kingdom is bad and golf is no good if the green movement us like the sea.
Good project, but one question on the corrugated drain pipe versus a smooth interior? The corrugated pipe system is generally used to slow water down inside the pipe so you don't have. A washout or hetting effect at the out fall. I guess the concern id have is how muddy the early water is the corrugation may start filling with silt and eventually have an issue.
Great job!
Thanks!
That was great ....I have. Problem. With water come in my sunroom
from my sliding door ... I have large stepping stones. leading out from door . When it rain it back up.. I was thinking of putting some kind of drainage about 3in. wide. . Don't know how to go about doing it., help
Thanks
nice video and great job..can you tell about how much that cost you..and how much did you save to do it yourself instead hiring a company..thanks for sharing
Dude thanks for the update
👍
Great Video. How does the water get in the pipe you buried in the gravel? Does it have holes in it?
Have you considered using an atrium-style grate for that sidewalk inlet? It would prevent leaves clogging the top of the grate as easily as the flat version does at 3:05. That way you don't have to go pick off grass after each rain :)
What I did with my drain, is took a 16 inch paver and cut an inner square to the size of the drain and put it on top of the drain. This way the grass stays clear. You can also paint it green to blend with the grass.
That is a good idea. You always know where it is and easy to mow over it.
Impresive!
Thanks!
Thanks for the video!
Thanks for watching!
do you have a comparison of how bad it used to flood there during and after a rain? thanks for this. I may do this to my house in back, i live in a mountain and sadly i have to get the rock up 40 stairs to my backyard from driveway....no clue how to do that without breaking my back, only me. lol
Neighbors: "He's out there shooting video of his yard in the rain again!"
Ya my neighbors don't get it and probably think I'm a little weird
looks good man
Thanks!
Brilliant!
Thanks!
Great video, thank you! Did you expected that much dirt coming out? WIth the fabric, I was thinking the water was going to be pretty clean.
I think the water i a real heavy rain is going to be discolored by moving through the ground so fast. It could also be the small amount of sediment that was in the gravel when I made the drain system. I will checking on it and if I see something good or bad I will make another video.
One of they best DIY videos I've seen on french drains. I noticed you said the trench was about 100 feet. What would they hypothetically cost start to finish?
Thanks!
200'+ actually. It averaged out to about $2.50 per foot.
This was good. Thank you
Thanks for watching!
I live in Canada near the North Dakota/Manitoba boarder. Would you recommend digging the trench a lot deeper since we have -30C winters?
Ryan, great video. I must have missed it but what is it draining into ? The first video you mentioned if you were going to tap into the sewer drain system. Is that what you did. Thanks in advance.
Asking for a friend......
How much more would it take to include filtration for capture of rain water! Just talking in terms of a gravity feed for dry season lawn care! I was thinking sump pump and raised storage!
I have to install about 400ft of french drain in my yard this summer. The issue I have is that I also have to install a backyard sump to drain it all out to the front storm drain. Gonna rent a trenching machine for mine
If I install a EZ Flow French Drain pipe (with the 'shipping peanuts' and cloth surround), can the end be closed with a solid cap underground? Would the pipe just fill up and let the water seep into the ground? I have it attached to a 6" catch basin under a down spout. (I'm concerned I would lose the pitch and not have a strong enough water flow to put a pop up emitter on the end of the pipe).
Short answer is yes but depending on your soil type the water may sit in the pipe awhile before it is able to seep out into the dirt. Also the size of the pipe will determine how much water it can hold.
Nice work👍
Thanks!
Were there holes in the pipe that was put down? I watched the other video and there wasn't any speaking of the way the pipe was opened up to allow the water to enter. I need to put one of these in and I'm trying to get a battle plan.
I saw you mention that the heat was drying out the area where you may not have had enough dirt under where you pulled up the sod. I had a similar issue in Atlanta, GA. I was able to slowly rebuild up soil/sod by slowly and constantly laying more sand/soil mixture and watering it in. Over time it made a huge difference and didn't cause a ridge. Just a little annoying but it paid off big time. I think my wife got riverbed sand and we mixed it with top soil. Unfortunate thing was we had to buy much more than we needed as it came by 1/3 square yards. . But we used the rest to level off the yard in spots.
Thanks for the tip
Hey @jamesbarber1273, just saw this comment. Where'd you get the riverbed sand and topsoil at? I'm in ATL south of Decatur.
Drain on, Dude!!
👊
Me, with absolutely no drainage requirements. Ahhh yes, that's some quality French draining. Parts 1 and 2.
I would like to run water into my lawn as it is flat and dry. How would you suggest i finsh the pipe ( where it stops in the middle of the lawn) if i were to do this. Thanks ,great video
One idea I have seen people use is something called a pop up
Hello, great videos. How would you handle a driveway that slopes slightly towards the garage? I have this issue and when it rains hard, water will pool up against the house and seep in over the foundation. Is a channel drain my best option? If so, thats probably a little more difficult than your regular DIY project..thanks.
Thanks! I am not a professional although if I were to attempt something like this I might use a channel style surface drain something like this: www.lowes.com/pd/NDS-2-in-dia-Channel-Drain-Kit/1001360712
Yikes that’s a lot of water! Looks like the drain’s working well though:)
😃👍
Hello and thanks for the videos! I am planning to install an outdoor shower on what is currently a small dirt surface adjacent to my garage. I am a bit concerned about the drainage. I assume I can implement the French drainage solution for this, or what would you recommend? Thanks again.
This may work great or depending on how you do is a catch basin at the low spot to collect the water may work well too.
@@ThatTechTeacher427 Thank you.
Is tying your drainage tiles directly into the city storm sewers legal?
How did you connect it to the storm drain? How did you know where you connect to the storm drain?
Great video. You have a new subscriber.
Awesome, thank you!
Great video series - how has the grass above the pipe held up in hot weather? I feel like it could dry it very quickly with minimal soil below there. Also, great to see the use of a drone to give an overview to your situation! What kind do you have?
Thanks!
Grass has started to dry out more than the rest of the yard. Should have left more dirt. DJI Mavic Pro Platinum
That Tech Teacher sweet! I have two DJI products I use for work and really like them a lot. Keep up the great content
Hello gonna start a similar project at my home but waiting for warmer weather. 2 questions
Any concerns about the black pipe collapsing under weight of dirt or people etc on top?
Any thoughts about just having run off go thru rocks to street?
Ads is pretty solid once buried with a few inches of round rock on top and sides of the pipe. It really adds to the integrity of the pipe. Washed round rock is expensive and the pipe creates a hugh void once buried to move tons of water fast faster than just stone could ever.
I agree with David. Out side the trench the cheaper corrugated and perforated black pipe doesnt seem that strong but when supported on all sides it should be good. We drive heavy mowers at the golf course on them all the time. Only time we have crushed one was with a dump truck with a few tons of dirt.
Nice job.
Thanks!
Awesome video. How did you “tap” into the city drain at the curb?
Hypothetically?
Good Job !
Thanks!
How did you connect to the street drain?
Post 10 would approve this system 👍🏻
👍
Good Job 👍
Thanks!
i'm in australia. did the exact same method but without as much luck.. i think my geofabric got clogged by clayish soils.. unsure though.
Good job. Looks like it's working well. My professional recommendations would have been to spend a few extra dollars and went to a contractor supply store and upgraded to higher quality materials. SCH40 pipe and better filter fabric. Other than that it looks like a professional job!
Great point! Thanks!